media blast wheels & tire age?

[eyduc]

Has anyone just media blasted their wheels and left it raw?   I know the wheels are cast aluminum.  Will a bead blast finish look good enough to keep it that way?   

Another question is how old is too old for tires?  I have an 06 with original Mich Pilot Powers and the tread is still good.  Is 6 years old too old?   The date code is 3405 (mid 2005).

[Speeddog]

I'd recommend at least a clear coat on the wheels if you media blast them.
Otherwise they'll be a bit of a pregnant dog to clean, depending on which media you get them blasted with....

IMO, get some new tires.

[eyduc]

I was thinking sand to remove the paint followed by bead blast to get a smooth but not glossy finish.   For the tires, I'll just get those near the end of the build next spring.   6 more months....

[Speeddog]

From what I've seen, sandblasting is going to leave 'em pretty rough, and beadblasting afterwards won't change it much.
Depends what grit they use as well.

Talk to your media blaster about it before you get it done, just to make sure.

[ducpainter]

Speeddog is right on.

Glass won't really smooth out pits from sand.

There is a grade of sand that is pretty fine. It doesn't pit steel, but it does rough up aluminum pretty bad.

[Speeddog]

There's various kinds of shells they use for blasting; walnut, etc.

I think by proper media selection it's possible to remove the paint without changing the finish of the aluminum at all.
Then you can blast with whatever you like to get the finish you want.

Your media blaster could likely give you option paralysis if you ask. 

[truckinduc]

I blasted my front wheel with glass bead and left it raw. I wish I would have just used paint stripper and left the original finish. 

Raw blasted wheels will never stay clean, they stain very easily and its almost like the absorb liquids.

[booger]

Do not use sand(irregular pointy shapes) on aluminum. Use glass beads(spherical shapes) or walnut blasting media. You have been warned! Sand is for steel as it has the inherent hardness to withstand being blasted with it.
The glass beads are what is used for a 'shot peened' surface, like mountain bike handlebars for instance. It actually increases the fatigue life of the part by a very small amount. I've had aluminum parts beadblasted and almost didn't take them in to the powdercoater because I fancied the beadblasted finish so much. However you must put a coating of some sort on raw aluminum.
And get some new tires, those are too old.

[eyduc]

Ok sounds like glass bead to remove the paint with a good finish and then clear coat (urethane, I suspect).   Thanks for the advice.  I'm still weighing my options.  Ideally, I want to paint.  But I was kicking around the idea of raw wheels. 

[ducpainter]

Ok sounds like glass bead to remove the paint with a good finish and then clear coat (urethane, I suspect).   Thanks for the advice.  I'm still weighing my options.  Ideally, I want to paint.  But I was kicking around the idea of raw wheels. 

Keep in mind you need to clear the wheels almost immediately to avoid aluminum oxide on the surface which will cause adhesion problems later.

You, nor the blaster, can handle them with bare hands unless you plan on etching or you'll have adhesion problems or surface defects.

If you decide to etch you run the risk of staining the bare aluminum. There are etching products that claim to not stain.

[Desmo Demon]

Another question is how old is too old for tires?  I have an 06 with original Mich Pilot Powers and the tread is still good.  Is 6 years old too old?   The date code is 3405 (mid 2005).

Answers to this are very subjective and depends on many variables. I mean, how were the tires (bike) stored? Did it see a lot of sunlight? Large range in temps? Exposed to ozone?....

As a reference, my wife and I will run just about any age tire on our bikes. We just take it easy at first with the older ones to see how they act. The last one I took off the front of the wife's R1 was last month and was the oldest that we've run to date. It was a Michelin Pilot Power Race with an August 1999 manufacture date. I got it with four other race tires that a buddy used for one session back during the 2000-2002 seasons (practically new), took them off, and they were stored in another guy's living room closet until I got them a year ago. I was going to throw this one away due to its age just for the heck of it (I only paid $10 for it), but my wife wanted to try it before it got chunked. She got just under 1000 miles out of it before the sides were bald. She never had a single issue with it sliding or giving any strange feedback.

Unless your tires are dry and cracking, I'd run on them without worrying about it, unless you've been having issues with them sliding or something. If they start sliding on you or give you some really funky feedback that make you not trust the tires, then change them.

For the record, I have never had a tire that didn't perform well enough for me to want to remove it before somewhere between the wear bars and seeing cords, no matter what its age was.